


Still Not Over

by QueenC16



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Date gone wrong, F/M, KIND of canon, Post TLO, Pre-HOO, Rated For Violence, obscure mythological creature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-03 23:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2891357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenC16/pseuds/QueenC16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annabeth sighed. She just couldn't have a normal date with her boyfriend or not have to worry about cryptic messages of impending doom, could she? No, of course not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Annabeth loved her boyfriend, she really did. Percy had many good qualities, no matter what Athena had to say about him: he was brave, reliable and funny. Sometimes, she’d even call him thoughtful, or - dare she say it - romantic.  
But now was not one of those times. Annabeth folded her arms and sighed. There were not words to describe how much she didn’t want to do this. She would have taken hours without sunscreen in the hot California sun over this. Heck, she’d have taken tea with Hera over this.  
“Percy, we came here on vacation to get away from monsters and danger, remember?” Percy was bouncing up and down like a kid in the middle of a candy store. His bright green eyes shone with excitement and his smile was bigger than she'd ever seen it. Between his wild enthusiasm and the ‘I Heart Universal Studios’ t-shirt, he looked like the world’s dorkiest tourist. The electric blue fanny pack certainly didn’t help.  
“Pleeeeeease, Annabeth? It looks so cool - and we can’t just go to Universal Studios and not visit the haunted house! This place is famous! And anyway,” continued Percy, “You got to drag me to see that King Kong presentation, which, in my opinion, was way more risky than this.”  
“Oh?” Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him.  
“Why, your poor, sweet boyfriend could have been bored to death! Oh!” Percy gasped melodramatically, faked a swoon and collapsed onto a nearby bench. He even stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth for good measure. Annabeth rolled her eyes but had to stifle a grin. She sauntered over and sat down next to him.  
“Last I checked, Seaweed Brain, you have to be awake to be bored. As in, not drooling all over your lovely girlfriend’s shoulder.” Percy flushed pink and rubbed the back of his neck. He had fallen asleep during the presentation, much to his embarrassment.  
“Aha, yeah. I guess so. But hey,” he said, sitting up. "I can pretty much guarantee there will be no drooling or falling asleep in the Haunted House. That’s a win, right?” Annabeth thought for a moment. Percy had already comprimised once for her today. He really hadn’t wanted to go see ‘The Making of King Kong’, but he’d slogged through it for her anyway - at least, he’d slogged through most of it. Besides, Universal Studios was a kiddie park. There were cranky sunburned parents with screeching snotty children walking around as far as the eye could see. Surely a haunted house situated in a place like this wouldn’t be that bad. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes of animatronic ghouls jumping out at her and then it would be over with.  
“All right, we can go through the haunted house,” muttered Annabeth.  
“YES!” Percy leaped off the bench and grabbed her by the wrist. As she was yanked into the stone-covered building, Annabeth tried to ignore the little voice of reason in the back of her mind that said she’d regret this. 

The first thing that Annabeth noticed after she came through the door was the large, day-glo sign that read, ‘Attraction may be too intense for children below the age of thirteen’. She bit her lip. Okay, maybe she had underestimated how scary this haunted house would actually be. The second thing she noticed were the glass cases. She wandered away from Percy to get a closer look. Once she saw what was in there, her stomach lurched. It was a very lifelike model of some horror movie monster that she wasn’t familiar with. Or at least, it was the severed arm of some horror movie monster. It had slimy-looking scales which were caked in dried blood, and dagger-like claws that Annabeth could have sworn had bits of flesh clinging to them. It wasn’t the goriness of the display that unsettled her. No, it was the memories it brought back. Dracnae with hissing voices and eyes of fire. Gorgons with eyes that could turn you to stone. Merciless drakons that tore even the bravest heroes to shreds...  
“Annabeth?” Percy was suddenly right behind her and Annabeth jumped. “You ready to go in?"  
“Sorry, sorry, I…we can go now.” Annabeth tore her eyes away from the arm and took Percy’s hand. Percy frowned at her.  
“You’re sure you’re alright?”  
“Yeah…yeah, let’s do this.” He stared at her for a moment or two, but then shrugged and led through the main reception area. Annabeth had been expecting more of a crowd, but there didn't seem to be anyone else in there except for a lone employee leaning against the wall. As the employee directed Percy to the entrance, Annabeth took a deep breath. Today was a fun day. Kronos was defeated. The world was safe, as were so many people she loved. Now, she could relax for a bit. Heck, she of all people deserved to relax for a bit. She was at a theme park with her awesome boyfriend, and they were going to go through a spooky haunted house together and cling to each other the whole time, like a normal couple. In the dark. Where her mom probably couldn’t see her. Hmm. Annabeth smiled, her spirits lifted considerably.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope no one minds how short this is...anyway, happy reading!

Percy led Annabeth to a doorway obscured by torn-up shreds of cloth dangling from the ceiling. Annabeth cocked her head unconsciously, trying to pick up on any kind of suspicious noise, but it was ominously quiet. Percy grinned at her.   
“This is gonna be so sweet.” She gave him a little half smile in return. Percy pushed aside a few streamers with his arm and Annabeth ducked under. Without even meaning to, she immediately began soaking up every detail of her surroundings. They were in a narrow, dimly lit corridor. Annabeth wasn’t a claustrophobic person, but the lack of open space made her feel like a caged animal.   
The house’s interior had been designed to look like a medieval castle, with thick velvet curtains and a few torches - plastic, probably - hanging from the stone walls. Lining the corridor were thick granite pillars, and there were several arched doorways with intricately carved patterns ahead, leading to who knows where. Great. Plenty of hiding places for monsters to jump out from. But what struck Annabeth most was what was hanging from the arches: thick, dusty cobwebs. There weren’t any spiders, but the presence of the webs was unsettling nonetheless. Ugh, it felt like they were watching her with those beady little eyes, just waiting to pounce.   
“Looks kinda creepy,” whispered Percy as they began to walk. Annabeth nodded curtly and linked arms with him, pulling him in tight. She knew none of it was real and it was all just a big show, but every cell in her body wanted to take Percy and run.  
For a little while, nothing happened. They moved slowly through the corridor. Every time they passed a pillar or went through an archway, Annabeth’s muscles would tense up, but nothing ever appeared. It was just her and Percy, holding onto each other in the creepy silence. The longer they went without any kind of confrontation, the more nervous Annabeth got. They should have met somebody by now. Something was up there, just waiting for them to get within range, and she had no way of knowing what. Since they were in a castle, she felt like she could make some guesses. Vampires tended to hang out in castles, and so did ghosts and witches. Yes, it was probably one of those.   
Percy pressed his lips together nervously and then spoke.  
“Huh, shouldn’t we have bumped into-“  
“Wait, be quiet,” interrupted Annabeth. She was suddenly very, very sure that they were being watched. All the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she shivered.   
She knew she shouldn’t turn around. She’d seen enough horror movies and been in enough battles to know what would happen if she turned around, and yet, Annabeth slowly turned her head to find...

Only the empty hall. She breathed a small sigh of relief. 

And then she felt Percy’s hand clamp down hard on her forearm.


	3. Chapter 3

“Ack!” Percy let out an yelp and stumbled backwards as a dark figure lunged at him from behind a pillar. Fortunately, years of training paid off and he quickly got his bearings back. He pushed Annabeth behind him and held his hands up in surrender, facing their mysterious assailant.  
“Okay, buddy, you got us. Good job, very funny.” But the figure took another step forward and began muttering something under its breath. Annabeth couldn’t quite make out exactly what was being said, but it sounded like an old language - Greek, or maybe Latin. Either way, she didn’t like it one bit. Regular haunted house employees didn’t just start chanting in dead languages. Percy, apparently, was on the same page. His hand started to surruptitiously inch its way to his jeans pocket, to the bulge there that Annabeth knew must be Riptide.   
But it never made it there. The figure threw itself at Percy again, this time making contact. They grabbed hold of his shoulders, raised him off the ground and then threw him backwards in one fluid motion, sending him crashing first into Annabeth and then the wall. There was a loud SMACK, and then they hit the ground hard.   
Annabeth brushed her hair out of her eyes and grunted in pain. Percy was sprawled out on top of her, quite effectively pinning her down. Gods, he was heavy.  
“Hey Percy, mind letting me up?” He didn’t answer.   
“Uh, Percy? You listening to me?” She craned her neck to get a good look at her boyfriend. Several Greek curses spewed from her mouth once she did. Percy had a sizeable bruise on his forehead from the fall. His eyes were open, but they had a dazed, blank look about them. That couldn’t possibly be good. After a few seconds of fluttering, they closed completely.  
Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth noticed the dark figure looming over them. It was wearing a black robe or cloak of some kind, with a hood over its head.  
'Oh Gods,' thought Annabeth, 'Please don’t let that be a real monster. The last thing me and my possibly concussed boyfriend need right now is one of those.’  
A bone-white hand reached up from beneath the cloak and slowly pulled back the hood, revealing a most unusual face.   
Its skin was paler than marble, almost to the point of translucence. Annabeth swore she could see the veins just underneath. By contrast, the creature’s eyes were black as pitch. Atop its head hair was a tangled, greasy mess of hair, as if it hadn’t washed for weeks. The creature smiled at Annabeth, mouth stretching unnaturally wide…and revealing long, sharp, pointy teeth.   
In truth, Annabeth wasn’t entirely sure what this thing was. She strained her brain, trying to think of anything Greek that was kind of like a vampire.   
Just then, the creature spoke.  
“You seem confused. Let me introduce myself.” It had a soft and silky but distinctly feminine voice. “My name is Mormo. Does that name sound familiar?” Annabeth shook her head. No, she hadn’t heard of this one. Mormo tilted her head slightly.  
“That doesn’t surprise me. Children seem to be hearing my stories less and less often these days.”  
“Stories?” asked Annabeth.  
“Yes, I was like the boogyman of Ancient Greece.” Mormon steepled her fingers. "Nursemaids would tell little children tales of Mormo, companion of Hecate and punisher of those who misbehaved.” Annabeth’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
“What do you mean by punisher?” Mormo’s toothy smile stretched even wider.  
“Why, I bite their necks and drain them dry of their blood, of course. Oh, don’t worry,” she added, catching the look of horror on Annabeth’s face. “I’m not here to punish you and your sweetheart. Even if I wanted to, I’m afraid you’re too old for me now.”  
“Then why are you here? What’s your reason for attacking me and my boyfriend?” Mormo closed her eyes, as if pondering exactly why she’d attacked them. After what seemed like forever, she opened them.  
“My violent actions were partly because of my need for self-defense and partly because my mistress wishes for me to speak to you and you alone. As I already mentioned, I am a companion to Hecate. My mistress is goddess of magic, spells and crossroads. Annabeth Chase, the Titan War may be over, but crossroads still lie ahead. Very soon, you and Percy - especially Percy - will have some choices to make. These choices, depending on how you make them, will bring you glory or ruin. I myself am not sure what is in store for you, nor is Hecate, but remember these words and heed them.”  
“So…our problems aren’t over? Will there be another war to fight? There can’t be.” Annabeth’s heart dropped to her shoes. She didn’t want any more of this. Hadn’t they already struggled for years? Was all that suffering not enough?   
“What else do we have to do?” she asked softly.  
Mormon looked at her with an almost pitying expression.   
“As I said, I do not know. But on behalf of Hecate, I wish you luck for when you reach the crossroads.” Mormo muttered a short incantation, something Annabeth couldn’t quite hear, and then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are wondering, yes, Mormo is an actual Greek monster. But she's a very obscure one, so I had to take some creative liberties on things like her appearance and her powers. She was very fun to create and figure out!   
> The final chapter should be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

“Miss? Miss, are you alright?” A panicked voice pulled Annabeth out of dreamland.  
“…Huh?” She sleepily opened her eyes. There was someone kneeling beside her, shaking her shoulders rather forcefully.  
“You really shouldn’t do that if someone’s possibly injured, you know. Shaking someone could make any possible injuries worse,” she mumbled. The person kneeling by her, a young man, stopped shaking her. He was wearing a puffy costume made out of scaly green and brown material.   
“Oh. Ah, sorry. I don’t actually know a lot about first aid…I just got on shift now and I found you and your friend lying here. What were you guys doing in here, anyway? How did you even get-“  
“Wait,” interrupted Annabeth. Her eyes scanned the halls. Percy was nowhere to be found. “That boy I was with, what did you do with him?”  
“Oh, I had a couple of my coworkers get him out of the hall. Say, how’d he get knocked out like that?“ Worry gripped Annabeth’s chest and her throat tightened up.  
“He fell and hit his head. Anyway, what do you mean, you had them get him out of the hall? You mean they carried him? He could be concussed - he hit his head pretty hard. Moving him probably wasn’t a good idea. Moving a badly injured person without proper training will generally make their injuries worse. You did take care to support his head, right? Don’t you people have any-“  
“Whoa, slow down,” said the man. “Before you start firing questions at me, could you at least explain why you were in the haunted house?”   
“Because…we were going to go through it?” The man rolled his eyes at her, and Annabeth felt a jolt of irritation.  
“Geez, didn’t you two see the sign in the waiting room? We were closed for maintenance all afternoon!”  
Closed for maintenance? But she hadn’t seen a sign, and neither had Percy. Then she remembered something.  
“An employee was in the waiting room with us, though. They directed us to the haunted house.”   
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense. The only people in here would have been the cleaning crew. Lady, you sure you’re not seeing things? Or maybe not seeing things?” Wait. Seeing things. Of course. Mormo had said she was a companion to Hecate, and Hecate was the goddess of -   
“The Mist,” said Annabeth.  
“The what now?” asked the man. He was looking seriously concerned.   
“Nothing.” She slowly pulled herself to her feet.   
“Could you take me to see my boyfriend?”

———

Two hours, three phone calls and several traffic jams later, Annabeth and Percy arrived at the drop-in clinic, driven there by a frazzled Sally. Annabeth checked her watch. It was four-thirty. She estimated that she and Percy had entered the haunted house at around two o’clock, which meant that Percy had been injured and hadn’t received any medical treatment for over two hours. He had woken up partway through their car journey, but he wasn’t really all there. He’d kept flinching away from the sunlight, slurring his words together when he spoke and didn’t seem to recall anything about the haunted house, no matter how many times Sally asked. Sensitivity to light, slurred speech, short-term memory loss. All classic signs of a concussion.   
Annabeth and Sally grunted as they all but dragged Percy out of the car. He had to lean on both of them heavily just to get to the clinic door. His eyes were still somewhat unfocused, and he kept tripping over his own feet.   
'Lack of coordination - yet another sign’, thought Annabeth, but she didn’t mention any of this to Sally. The poor woman seemed worried enough as it was. She was chewing hard on her bottom lip and the lines around her eyes were unusually deep. Annabeth couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to raise a kid like Percy, who was always in some sort of danger.  
They waited in the reception area for about half an hour before a doctor ushered them into his office. First he asked Annabeth about how Percy had gotten injured and how he had acted immediately afterward. He also wanted to know the time of the injury and whether or not Percy had been concussed before (miraculously, the answer was no). The doctor then ran a series of tests, including shining a light into Percy’s eyes to see how Percy’s pupils reacted and asking Percy a series of questions, like whether or not his head hurt and did he feel nauseated. He tested Percy’s senses and played a few memory games. Soon the doctor came to the conclusion that Percy did indeed have a concussion, but only a minor one.   
“I would suggest rest for about a week, physically and mentally. That means no sports, no running, no kind of vigorous exercise whatsoever. Also, try to avoid reading, video games and using a computer. Give him a pain reliever if he complains about headaches, and see a doctor again if his symptoms worsen or something else happens to his head. Also, he should have someone watching over him and checking in on regularly to ensure that he is resting and that is symptoms aren’t getting worse.” Annabeth and Sally thanked him and left.  
“Well,” said Sally on the ride back to the hotel, “I don’t think keeping him away from electronics and books should be an issue, but he won’t be too happy about not being able to exercise.”  
“We’ll talk some sense into him,” replied Annabeth. The atmosphere in the car was much more relaxed now that they knew Percy would be alright. Annabeth stared at the glowing sunset, pondering what Mormo had told her. Upcoming crossroads, huh? She didn’t like the sound of that - it could mean just about anything. There was no way to prepare, either, which she hated. Really, there was nothing she could do at all. She let out a resigned sigh. She’d just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. Percy began snoring gently beside her, and she gave him a little smile.   
Before any crossroads came up, she was going to have her hands quite full with that troublesome boyfriend of hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for my first fic. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope to start another one soon. Thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this! Chapter 2 is in the editing stages and should be uploaded shortly, and chapters 3 and 4 are on the way. Please give feedback and talk to me - I'd really appreciate it.


End file.
